Silva flier spurs legal questions

Sunday

Dec 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - City Attorney John Luebberke will conduct a legal review to determine whether Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva violated state laws last week when he distributed a flier that included a photograph of Police Chief Eric Jones, authorities said.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - City Attorney John Luebberke will conduct a legal review to determine whether Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva violated state laws last week when he distributed a flier that included a photograph of Police Chief Eric Jones, authorities said.

The four-page flier is rife with punctuation and spelling errors, but those may be the least of the mayor's concerns after city officials raised legal questions about its contents.

The flier outlines Silva's successes and struggles in his first year as mayor, prominently displays statistics illustrating a dramatic decline in violent crime in 2013 and includes photos of Jones and other uniformed police officers - photos that were used without Jones' permission, according to a police spokesman. The flier also contains a written message from Silva, who referred to his contentious relationship with City Council members and former City Manager Bob Deis, claimed his "reputation has been slandered," and asked citizens to support him "in building a new Stockton."

City Council members Kathy Miller, Elbert Holman and Dyane Burgos Medina believe the photos of police officers could constitute a violation of California Government Code 3206, which states: "No officer or employee of a local agency shall participate in political activities of any kind while in uniform." A second government code, 3302 (a), states: "Except as otherwise provided by law, or whenever on duty or in uniform, no public safety officer shall be prohibited from engaging, or be coerced or required to engage, in political activity."

Luebberke could not be reached Saturday, but City Hall spokeswoman Connie Cochran said Luebberke plans to conduct a legal review of the flier later this week. Last month, Luebberke sent a review to San Joaquin County's civil grand jury outlining an alleged Brown Act violation by Silva, who divulged the name of a city manager candidate without the City Council's authorization.

Silva could not be reached for comment, but N. Allen Sawyer, a political consultant and associate of Silva's, said the flier was not political in nature. Sawyer said Silva is three years away from running for re-election, is not advocating for any political candidate or issue in the flier, and paid for the flier himself, although that isn't noted in the flier.

"I'm familiar with Government Code 3206 and it's not even a close call," Sawyer said. "There's no campaign, no election and he's not asking anyone to vote a certain way. This is just an informational flier giving an update after the mayor's first year in office. It's done all the time."

Miller disputed Sawyer's assessment, saying the language used in the flier is, in fact, political. In November, Silva urged voters to "elect fresh faces on the City Council that promise to work with me."

"If it's not political, then what is it?" she said. "I think the wording is clearly political. He's asking people to support him. He's soliciting support. At the very least, it's creating the perception that it's political."

Holman echoed Miller's remarks.

"In my opinion, it could be construed as being political," he said. "Why else would you send it out? With all the negative publicity that's been coming out about (Silva) recently, this looks like damage control, which is in itself political."

Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Police Department, said the photos of Jones and other police officers were used without Jones' knowledge or permission.

"We did not and would not give permission for a photograph of a uniformed employee to be taken or used for the purpose of political activity because of department policy, city policy and California Government Code," he said.

"Our goal is to maintain the integrity of the men and women of the Stockton Police Department, and we would not want the public to perceive that the Police Department is endorsing one elected official over another. We must remain unbiased in the performance of our official duties. A legal review will be done by the city attorney as is standard for points of legal clarification."

Sawyer said Mayor Silva did not need Jones' permission to use the photos and did not intend to create "the impression that the chief was endorsing anything."

Burgos Medina said she believes Silva's flier suggests Jones supports the mayor and his initiatives, adding that it is Jones, not Silva, who deserves credit for reducing homicides by more than 50 percent.

"Chief Jones has everything to do with all the changes that have been made - all the reductions in crime - because of the amazing work he and our police department have done, and all the changes he's implemented," Burgos Medina said. "Unfortunately, this (flier) undermines Chief Jones' ability to do his job by adding that additional layer of politics that doesn't belong in the police force. The mayor's term has been problematic, and you just don't want that interfering with what Chief Jones is trying to do."

Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or janderson@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/crimeblog and on Twitter @Stockton911.